Criminal Justice News

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Protect Your Identity - During and After the Holidays

From
Navy Personnel Command Public Affairs

MILLINGTON,
Tenn. (NNS) -- Making a holiday budget and following it is a great way to make
sure your January credit card statements won't be a scary but don't forget to
protect your personal and financial data too, officials said Dec. 11.

"As
consumers prowl retail stores looking for the best bargains, criminals and
hackers are lurking, waiting for opportunities to steal their identities and in
turn, their money," said Stacy Livingstone-Hoyte, personal financial
management specialist at the Fleet and Family Support Center in Millington,
Tenn.

She
went on to explain that there are ways to protect your identity and financial
security by:

-Maintaining
physical control of your debit cards, credit cards, checkbook and identifying
information (such as Social Security number and date of birth).

-Know
where these items are at all times.

-Only
carry the cards you plan to use. This protects you in two ways: If you lose
your purse or wallet, you will know exactly what is lost and secondly, you will
be less inclined to overspend if you do not have other financial resources at
your fingertips.

-Know
with whom you are doing business. This is especially important when doing
business online or over the phone.

-Review
all statements upon receipt to verify that all the transactions are accurate.

-
Pay more than the minimum monthly payment to reduce your debt faster.

-
A $1000 credit card charge at 18% APR amounts to 19 years to pay off the debt
and $1931 in interest payments, if you only pay the minimum payment (2% of
balance). Avoid making only minimum payments.

-
If overspending has left you unable to meet your debt payments, see your CFS or
FFSC financial educator to review your spending plan and help you explore
options.

"Financial
planning is important even after the holidays end," continued
Livingstone-Hoyte. "Take the time to note which techniques and strategies
were effective in helping you stick to your holiday spending plan and apply
them to your yearly efforts. If the strategies didn't serve you well, try to
figure out why and make adjustments."

Livingstone-Hoyte
says dealing with debt is essential to your wellbeing and navigating stress.
She recommends using lessons learned from this year to plan for next. Saving
now for next year will ensure you will have the cash for your expenses and your
holidays will be debt-free. To do that, she says, add up what you spent this
year and divide that amount by 12. This is the amount you'll need to put into a
savings account each month to be ready for next year. Additionally; since the
Military pay increase for 2013 will be 1.3%, consider using this "new
money" as an extra resource in helping to grow your household savings or
eliminate debt. The allotment feature available in MyPay can help you with this
effort.